


The Color Orange

by justagayarmin



Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: Alternate Universe - Coffee Shops & Cafés, Bokuto Koutarou & Kuroo Tetsurou are Bros, Cute, Fluff, Friends to Lovers, Friendship, Friendship/Love, Fukuroudani, Karasuno, M/M, Nekoma, Some Plot
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-06-26
Updated: 2016-07-01
Packaged: 2018-07-18 08:13:13
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 5,628
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7307017
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/justagayarmin/pseuds/justagayarmin
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Kageyama Tobio is an extremely talented barista at Karasuno Café. But when a cheerful, sunny person named Hinata Shouyou shows up out of the blue, he can't help but feel blown away.<br/>With every day he comes in the shop, Kageyama becomes more and more intrigued with this bright-eyed stranger.<br/>And Kageyama falls more and more in love with the color orange.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Orange

**Author's Note:**

> Hey! I heard you wanted more cliché coffee shop au's in haikyuu  
> Wait. You didn't?  
> Well, it's here, and there's no going back.  
> This is based off of a rp me and a friend are doing, and it is the CUTEST THING EVER ;-;  
> So please enjoy this multi chapter fic!! It'll probably be about 3 or 4 chapters

“Thanks for coming.”

Kageyama politely nodded to the customer and handed them their piping hot drink. They muttered their own thanks and made their way back outside.

As soon as he heard the bell signaling their departure, Kageyama’s face slipped into its natural state and his shoulders slumped visibly. There had been a huge rush of people for the last 30 minutes, and Kageyama was obligated to make drink after drink with no breaks. But finally the storm had passed, and he had a blissful moment where no new customers came inside. He was going to savor the freedom while it lasted.

People were so damn _exhausting,_ especially when they gave him a hard time. This one woman today had threatened to call Kageyama’s manager because someone else’s drink was done before hers. He had politely tried to explain that their drink wasn’t as complicated as hers, so theirs was ready first. She’d yelled at him and thrown an embarrassing fit, drawing all the attention to her, and it took all of Kageyama’s willpower not to snap back at her. He just kept saying “Ma’am, Ma’am…” until his manager, Sawamura Daichi showed up, with a terrifying presence.

Things were resolved very quickly after that.

Kageyama wasn’t the most eloquent person when it came to bad customers or just customers in general. He was too blunt to people, he never knew the right thing to say, and he’d been told his smile strikes fear into everyone. That last one kind of hurt, but it wasn’t like they were lying. Kageyama had _no idea_ how to properly smile. He always ended up thinking too hard about it and looked like he was plotting someone’s murder.

So with how hard he was trying _not_ to look pissed at the world, Kageyama didn’t have any energy to spare for people like her. But, the extra money was nice, and he got discounts whenever he got food from here. That ended up being more often than not, so he appreciated it.

Leaning his head on the counter, Kageyama let out a long, exhausted sigh. At least that was over now. He could finally relax his stiff shoulders and stop feeling so—

“Uwah! Karasuno Café huh?”

“...It’s crowded.”

“Look at the uniforms! Bro, I want one of those.”

“I’ll get you one bro.”

“B-Bro…”

…Stressed.

Kageyama felt an oncoming headache as the bell chimed signaling a new group of customers. He really thought he’d have more of a break before he had to get back to the machines. Holding back a groan of despair, he got ready to serve four more people.

One of them had hair that looked like he’d just gotten up, and his eyes were droopy as if he were planning something. The other one had black and white hair spiked up like two horns, and looked equally as suspicious. What the hell were they thinking leaving the house with hair like that? There was a quiet one too, with blond hair and really prominent dark roots. Why didn’t he just redye it...?

But the one that left the biggest impression on Kageyama was…orange.

A bright, blinding orange that assaulted his eyes, making him squint in confusion. For a strange second, he thought the fucking sun had come down into Karasuno Café for a quick latté.

After taking a second look, he realized it wasn’t the sun, but someone who could be the literal embodiment of it. He was smiling extremely widely, and his hair was so annoyingly bright that it irritated him. It was splayed all over the place like he’d been electrocuted or something, and he wondered if he’d even tried to comb it before coming into his café.

Shaking his head, he’d efficiently made all four of their drinks and placed them in a drink carrier. Kageyama looked up and the orange kid was right in front of him, waiting for their drinks. Up close, he only realized how short he was. He couldn’t be any more than 160cm.

He slid it over to him and tried to avoid eye contact. The less talking he had to do, the better.

“Thank you very much!”

The sudden cheerful sound from the stranger caused him to look up, and he froze up. A beautiful smile as blinding as his hair color greeted him, and Kageyama was blown away by how sincere he was. It was like the wind was sucked out of him, and he was left gasping for air. Faint freckles dusted his face, and they only enhanced the pure, child-like look he had.

Blinking and staring for a moment longer than necessary, Kageyama finally remembered to breathe and looked away from the sun. “Th-Thanks for coming.”

And, as brief as his appearance had been, he was already leaving the counter and jogging over to his table of friends. They all hounded him for the drinks, and he’d settled in with them easily. The huge smile was still on his face and Kageyama watched them interact for a while. The bed-head and owl guy seemed to be making jokes, and the orange haired guy laughed his head off. Pudding-head had a small smile on his face, but again the small ginger stood out more than the others.

What was _with_ him…?

Why did he grab his attention so much?

He was probably never going to see that kid again; after all, Kageyama had never seen him in here before.

And for some reason, that bothered him more than it should have.

“Oi. Earth to the King of Coffee,” someone mocked, and Kageyama was annoyed to find that it was Tsukishima, holding out an empty cup in his face. He looked over at his co-worker with distaste and found the same look being returned at him. “Do your job for once. Or is that too much a single-celled parasite like yourself to comprehend?”

Kageyama held back a harsh retort and yanked the cup from his slender hands. God, who pissed in his cereal to make him be such an insufferable prick? One of these days he swears he won’t be able to keep himself from telling him off, and he was going to get fired.

But until that day came, he would just focus on making coffee.

Even if his thoughts were filled with the color orange.


	2. Gathering Information

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Kageyama keeps watching the four of them, and they start acting rather...suspiciously.

It wasn’t long before he’d shown up at his coffee shop again.

Every time the bell at the front doors chimed, Kageyama’s eyes would dart over to the entrance. Usually, it ended up just being a wrinkly old lady or some douche in a scarf and a beanie. The barista would awkwardly look away from these strangers.

It wasn’t like he was waiting for _him_ or anything, that would be a complete waste of his valuable time. And Kageyama was  _not_ one for wasting time.

But the very next day at around 4:00, that excitable ball of orange and his friends had come and ordered four different drinks. Again, the orange-haired kid was sent to pick them up, and sent Kageyama off with a cheerful “Thank you very much!”

No one’s hair looked any better than yesterday either. Bed-head, Horned owl, Pudding, and Sunshine all looked the same as ever. Since he had no idea what their actual names were, he came up with new ones. It was easy to tell who was who this way.

Just like yesterday, Kageyama was discreetly observing them. Every now and then when he had a break in drinks to make, he would look over to that rambunctious table. They always seemed to be having a good time, with Sunshine being the loudest of them all.

That kid rarely sat down in his seat, and when he did he was constantly fidgeting. And the whole time, Sunshine’s smile never truly left his face; it only changed its intensity. Sometimes it was faintly there when he was listening intently, other times it was like a spotlight had been turned on. But it was always there.

And his hair. God, it was so _annoying._ Even if Kageyama wasn’t looking at him, he could still catch it from the corner of his eye because it stood out so much. It rivaled that of a traffic cone, and he wondered why anyone would want to dye their hair such an obnoxious color.

Kageyama felt exhausted just _looking_ at him.

He couldn’t keep himself from doing it, though. There was just something about that kid that intrigued the raven-haired barista, and he was having a hard time pinning it down.

So with that reasoning in mind, Kageyama decided to continue to keep an eye on him.

 

~~~~~

 

A few days had passed until they returned. Yesterday he had fully anticipated them coming again, but when he clocked out and there was still no sign of them, Kageyama felt betrayed. Why the hell hadn’t Sunshine come?

He swore he was going to hit him the next time he bounced into the shop. Kageyama didn’t care if Sunshine had no idea who he was; he had pent up frustration and no way to get rid of it.

However, when Sunshine had finally shown up with the others he’d forgotten it all. It was a stupid grudge to make anyway, and it would probably get him arrested. It wasn’t that he couldn’t bring himself to punch that face. He’d decided to change his mind all by himself without any influence whatsoever.

No one could prove otherwise.

They hadn’t done anything out of the ordinary; order drinks, Sunshine picks them up, he beams at him with that smile, and he’s on his merry way.

But this time, when he walked back to his table, Kageyama heard Bed-head speak up.

“Oi, Chibi-chan! Tell Bokuto that Howl’s Moving Castle is _way_ better than My Neighbor Totoro.”

_…Chibi-chan?_

“Oh come on! Have you _seen_ how adorable Totoro is?” the horned owl pointed out, standing up from his seat.

“Have _you_ seen how gorgeous Howl is?” his friend sighed dreamily.

“…Okay, true.”

Kageyama blinked at the newfound nickname. Sunshine hadn’t objected to it at all and even seemed familiar with the title. He hated to admit it, but it was really…cute. Plus, it suited him, since he was about the size of an ant.

He smiled at the new information and got to working with more fervor than before.

 

~~~~~

 

The next day they were back again. They went through the routine, and Kageyama went to observing Sunshine.

Though for a while, things felt…off.

Everything would start off normally. He would be making beautiful lattés and cappuccinos and hot cocoas, and handing them off to customers with a “Thanks for coming”.

But then he would start to feel a presence. Like a pair of eyes were on him.

Like someone was _watching him_.

The first time it happened, he dismissed it easily. It was definitely odd, but he wasn’t about to let one strange thing throw him off.

When it happened again a few minutes later, however, it felt like an itch. And the longer he went about his job, the more prominently he felt the eyes on him. The itch went from a small nuisance to something unbearable, and finally, he scratched it by looking up towards the tables.

Kageyama was surprised to find a few heads shoot down right when he’d started to look around.

In fact, there had been exactly four of them.

Glancing at the group he’d become somewhat familiar with, he furrowed his brows in confusion. Every single one of them was staring pointedly at their drinks or at the table. Not one dared to look up even a centimeter.

Kageyama tilted his head to the side and didn’t take his eyes off of them. What the hell…?

Soon the four of them moved closer to each other, and he couldn’t tell what expression they were making but he assumed it couldn’t be good. Black meshed with black and white, black and yellow, and illuminating orange, resulting in one big obnoxious eyesore.

They seemed to be discussing something when Bed-head and Horned Owl started to argue in really loud whispers. Unfortunately, he couldn’t hear a word they said, but damn did he wish he could just so he could know what the fuck was going on.

All four of the friends stopped talking for a moment, and then in unison, slowly turned their heads towards Kageyama. When they noticed he was still looking at them, they quickly avoided his stare and went back to talking.

The raven-haired barista blinked owlishly. Whatever they were talking about, Kageyama had a really bad feeling about it. But, there was nothing he could do about it.

And with one last look at the orange-haired ball of energy, he turned back to his forgotten drinks.


	3. Alone Time

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Kageyama was surprised to see that Sunshine's other friends weren't with him.  
> And where did that stupid smile of his go?

For the first time, Chibi-chan came to Karasuno Café all by himself.

At first, Kageyama thought that the other three were just lagging behind. But when he’d sat down at a table and his friends were still nowhere to be seen, the raven-haired man became confused. Maybe they were meeting him here later, and Sunshine was just early. The way he kept looking at the door only confirmed his suspicions.

Either way, it was a strange sight for the barista to see. And the way the orange-haired kid acted was even stranger.

It seemed without anyone to accompany or entertain him, Sunshine became reserved. Gone was the excited boy who didn’t know the meaning of sitting still, and replaced was a person who sat quietly in his seat. He didn’t talk except to mouth words when he was texting someone.

But the biggest change of all was the lack of a smile. He didn’t look sad exactly, but he didn’t look happy either. Sunshine seemed a bit uncomfortable, or…anxious. This wasn’t something Kageyama had ever seen from him before, so it was a bit jarring.

Sunshine continued to look from his phone to the door for several minutes, and the longer he waited the more Kageyama could identify concern and worry on the traffic cone’s face.

It bothered him.

Ignoring the obvious distress on the man's face, Tsukishima handed him three new orders to make. He had a job to do after all. So with one last look towards Sunshine, Kageyama got started on the drinks.

 

~~~~~

 

After he’d made those three drinks, a sudden rush of customers came into the shop. Kageyama had his hands full with work for a solid 20 minutes, making coffee left and right. But finally it eased up enough to let him breathe for a moment, and the barista wiped his brow.

Now, he would have a chance to check on Sunshine. Kageyama glanced over to the table he last spotted him at and searched for that bright head.

Kageyama’s heart hurt when he saw that he was looking even worse off. Sunshine kept looking at his phone like it had told him his dog died, and he looked even more nervous and upset than before.

He wasn’t used to seeing the kid without his wide grin or bouncing excitedly. And only when it was gone did Kageyama realize how much he missed it. Sunshine’s smile and Sunshine were a package deal; one never came without the other. Now, he almost looked like someone different. The only thing that really gave away his identity was his orange hair.

Usually, Kageyama would just watch from afar and wonder what was the matter. But this time, it felt different. Somehow a part of the barista grew attached to this guy whether he liked it or not.

So, while clenching and unclenching his hand around the edge of the counter, Kageyama tried to muster up some courage to speak. His mouth opened and closed silently for a bit, not a squeak coming out. Clearing his throat, Kageyama tried again.

“…Oi.”

The reaction was instantaneous. Sunshine jumped where he sat, and wildly looked around for the source of the voice. When he discovered that Kageyama was staring at him, he could have sworn his cheeks turned darker. Sunshine turned around in his seat, searching for anyone else he could have been talking to.

Kageyama gritted his teeth. Did he really look that unfriendly? Was it that hard to believe that he was trying to get his attention?

After turning his attention back to the barista, he pointed to himself while tilting his head.

“Yes, you,” Kageyama confirmed. Sunshine still looked as surprised as he did earlier. He didn’t want to scare him even further by telling him he already knew who he came here with, so being vague would do for now.

Clearing his throat again, he steadily continued. “Are you waiting for someone?”

“Uh—uhm,” He stuttered, and Kageyama was shocked by the action. He seemed like someone who radiated confidence, so to see him act as shy as he did was unexpected. Kageyama nodded his head to encourage him to keep talking.

“I-I wanted to meet up with a friend here, but he just cancelled. So now I’m just sitting here alone, haha!” he laughed nervously, scratching at the back of his orange head. A weak smile was on his face now, and that made the raven-haired man feel a little better.

Still, Chibi-chan had been left here all by himself with no one to talk to. “He sounds like a dick.”

Immediately, the other furrowed his eyebrows and scrunched his nose. “Kenma is _not_ a dick!” he protested.

Shit, that was too blunt, wasn’t it. Kageyama sighed at his poor attempt at making conversation. Why was he like this? Why couldn’t he just react like a normal person would and say ‘Oh, I’m so sorry!’ or something like that?

He leaned his head heavily onto one hand, sulking slightly. “So what’re you gonna do now?”

“Well…at first I had no idea. I was thinking about going home or something,” he replied. And then Sunshine hit Kageyama with one of his signature smiles that made his heart do weird things.

“But now you’re here!”

Wait…

… _What._

“No no no, no. No. I just work here, I’m literally obligated to be here until my shift is over,” Kageyama explained. He was growing more and more flustered, and the butterflies in his stomach turned into frantic flapping birds.

He really hoped he didn’t throw up.

“I know I know,” he dismissed with a wave of his hand. “But it isn’t your job to talk to me, is it? You saw me and decided to do that on your own. And that makes me really happy!”

The raven-haired man was blown away by his words. How could a few awkward words mean so much to Sunshine? Who just _says_ that to someone they talked to for the first time?

While he couldn’t deny that he’d done exactly as Sunshine had described, he didn’t think it would make the guy _happy_ or anything. In fact, he didn’t have the orange-haired kid’s interests in his heart at all. His own heart was just hurting, probably from heartburn, and it was weird to not see him smile.

That’s it.

Before Kageyama could think about it any further, slender fingers were snapping right in his face.

“Would you _please_ stop making goo-goo eyes at the customers? I seriously think I’m about to be sick,” Tsukishima groaned, nudging his glasses up with his middle finger.

“I—I was _not_!” Kageyama protested, and he noticed Sunshine’s face grow pink as a nervous smile wiggled onto his face. He bet his own cheeks were a similar shade of embarrassment.

Kageyama attempted to recover with an insult. “Maybe you need to get your glasses checked, four-eyes.”

Tsukishima’s thin eyebrows lowered, and he turned away from his co-worker to work with a customer. His framed face had transformed into a sickeningly sweet one, and he gave the person in line a commercial smile. “Hello, what can I help you with today?”

Kageyama huffed at his new persona. Part of him found it extremely annoying, but another part was jealous that he could fake being friendly so easily. It would make his job—and his situation with Sunshine over there—much easier.

Soon he was handed an empty cup with an order scribbled on it, and he didn’t miss the condescending smirk that was sent his way.

Glancing at the writing, he almost choked when he read ‘Quit flirting with your boyfriend at work’ written in small, swirly letters. Kageyama sent a cold glare to both Tsukishima and Sunshine, and the latter gave him a questioning look.

The customer had been thoroughly confused when they found a violently scribbled box on their drink.


	4. Fly High

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Finally, Kageyama is able to properly talk with Sunshine and put a real name to his face.

Daichi had once told the raven-haired boy that he had a certain knack for making coffee. He said when he was blending the ingredients together to make any drink, it looked like a complicated and elegant dance. His hands flowed freely from one thing to the next, as if the two of them had separate minds, and combined them into delicious cappuccinos and lattés.

And not only did he feel he was good at it, the repetitive actions calmed him down too. He would completely tune out everything around him and hyper-focus on the task at hand. It was one of those rare times his face wasn’t riddled with frustration or anger. Instead, he almost seemed to be at peace.

Kageyama had been in one of these zones when that familiar chime yanked him from his task. He blinked himself back into reality feeling a little disoriented and glanced up at the new customer.

At this point, he should just always expect it to be Sunshine. He hopped into the shop with his usual smile on his face and his usual bright hair. Once again he was all by himself, but this time, there was none of the anxiety Kageyama had seen yesterday.

Instead, he confidently marched right to an empty table without ordering anything and sat down.

And then proceeded to openly _stare_ at him.

He wasn’t even remotely trying to hide it. Sunshine’s head rested easily on his hands, and his elbows were propped up on the glossy table. Those huge-ass brown eyes of his were glued onto him and didn’t seem to have any intention of moving anytime soon. It seemed like Kageyama’s every move was being inspected, and there was no way he could relax under his scrutinizing gaze.

Obviously, Sunshine wanted to talk to him. But right now he didn’t think he had the time to indulge him. After all, his break wasn’t for…

…Five minutes.

Well shit, was it really almost that time already? Kageyama must have been really out of it if he didn’t even notice that. He always looked forward to his breaks, so to completely forget that it was coming up was different.

Shaking his head, Kageyama tried to get the last five minutes of his shift to go as quickly as earlier had gone.

...

The world seemed to hate him today because painfully slowly the clock ticked by minute by minute, second by second. And to make matters worse, in those excruciating five minutes, he only had one drink to make. _One._ If he’d been buried in work like earlier, surely would have distracted him. But fate decided to keep nearly all the customers away for a bit.

And when Kageyama finally saw five minutes had passed, he didn’t waste any time in bolting to the back room. He whipped off his bright orange apron he was obligated to wear as fast as he could. Funnily, the color reminded him of a certain annoying someone.

Clocking out, Kageyama stopped by a small mirror hanging on the wall to inspect himself before he went back out there.

His work required that he wore a black button up and black pants to match, and instantly he wished his uniform was more casual. Not to make himself seem more friendly for _him_ or anything, he just preferred to be able to breathe in his clothes.

Kageyama undid the first few buttons on his dress shirt and looked at himself. He still looked a little too stuffy, so he rolled up the long sleeves to his elbows.

"Better," Kageyama hummed.

He then looked at his dark, flat hair, and his permanently angry face. It wasn’t like Kageyama could help it, it was just how he looked. He ran a hand through his black locks and ruffled it in an attempt to look more laid back. Finally, he gave a wobbly smile to the mirror.

The end result was him looking like a drug addict that just broke out of prison. The raven-haired man quickly fixed his hair before glaring at his own reflection. This, unfortunately, would have to do.

Kageyama walked back out to the café and saw the orange-haired kid still sitting by himself. Since he’d left a few minutes ago, Sunshine had started to fidget with his hands and wasn’t as smiley as before.

He felt something flip-flop in his stomach at the sight. Hell, it probably _was_ his stomach.

The barista hid behind the counter and watched him for a few more minutes, suddenly feeling very nervous. The two of them hadn’t really had a _proper_ conversation before. What if Kageyama messed it up? He could feel the inside of his palms grow uncomfortably sweaty, and he wiped it on his pants.

“You can do this. Just go and sit across from him. It’s not that hard…” he mumbled, focusing harder and harder on the spot he was going to sit at. Why did Kageyama have to have such god-awful social skills? Couldn’t he have been born a social butterfly or something?

Kageyama continued to utter words of encouragement to himself until he was kicked in the back by a hard shoe. He glared over his shoulder, and of course, it had to be  _that_ asshole. They seemed to always have a shift together, and Kageyama fucking hated it.

“Quit cowering like a worm and go out there already,” Tsukishima ordered. From down where he was crouched, the blond seemed a lot taller and more intimidating than usual. But at the same time, Kageyama thinks he was trying to help him…?

It really pissed him off.

So with a final glare, he wiggled his way out from behind the counter and awkwardly walked to Sunshine’s table. He knew he’d been spotted before he even sat down, but Kageyama didn’t dare to make eye contact.

Pulling out a chair, he moved to sit down in it, his movements as stiff and uncomfortable as a robot. Kageyama placed his hands on his lap and took a deep breath.

“You look like you’re on your way to your own funeral.”

Kageyama looked up at the orange-haired kid who was raising his thick eyebrows at him. He’d seemed pretty amused at the barista’s suffering, so he gave him a menacing glare.

Sunshine quickly raised his hands in defense. “Whoa, whoa! Sorry, I didn’t mean to make you angry—”

“…ce.” Kageyama interrupted quietly. He was looking down at his clenching and unclenching fists. He hoped Sunshine wouldn’t ask him to say it again.

“Huh? What did you say?”

Of course he would.

Gritting his teeth, he tried one more time. “I _said_ ,” he repeated, this time, louder. “I’m not angry. It’s…just my face.”

Sunshine blinked for a moment, processing what Kageyama just said. For a while, there was just silence between the two of them. But when it finally sunk in, the guy had the _nerve_ to burst out laughing.

“Oh—oh my god! I can’t believe you just said that! And so _s-seriously_ too!” he cackled, trying to rein them in by covering his mouth. Kageyama could still tell how hard he was laughing, and the raven-haired man rolled his eyes.

“I’ve barely said anything.”

“Yeah but it was still hilarious!” he sighed happily and lowered his laughter to an occasional giggle. “What’s your name by the way?”

The relaxed atmosphere he’d provided helped Kageyama loosen up a bit. His shoulders relaxed, and he no longer felt so suffocated. “Kageyama. Kageyama Tobio.”

Sunshine held out a small hand. “I’m Hinata Shouyou. Nice to meet’cha!”

Slowly, he took it into his own. “Hinata Shouyou…” he tested out slowly.

It felt nice to say it, and it felt even nicer to finally have something to call him other than Chibi-chan or Sunshine or Annoying Ball of Orange. If he recalled correctly, “Hinata” meant sunny place, and it totally seemed fitting for someone as warm as him. Unlike Kageyama, Hinata was someone who could make friends wherever he went, and his cheerfulness was extremely contagious.

He was surprised to find that his hands were slightly calloused too. Kageyama absentmindedly wondered what kind of work he’d done to get those.

When he looked Hinata in the eyes, he noticed that they were widened slightly. Kageyama only now realized that he’d been holding his hand for quite a while, and pulled away with an apology. Hinata’s next smile was a bit different than before, and the barista wasn’t sure what to make of it.

“So…do you have fun at work? I mean everything you do looks so GWAAH!” he interrogated, waving his hands. “Like a pro or something!”

What…what the hell was a gwaah? Was that even Japanese?

He decided to ignore the strange sound effects. “Yeah, work's alright I guess. The people kind of suck, but making coffee is just so... you know when, uh..." he trailed off. How could Kageyama explain how everything made him feel?

 Maybe...

"You know that feeling you get when you serve a volleyball and it goes perfectly into the person's hands? And then they get that excited look on their face?" He tried to compare. "It's like that. You see the customer's face when they drink the coffee and it's like I made the perfect set."

Kageyama felt a small smile on his face. He always felt excited whenever he talked about volleyball, even if he hadn’t been able to play a game in years.

But when he realized just how much he’d rambled he backpedaled a bit. "Sh-Shit, uh, that was probably really boring and didn't make any sense. That was weird, sorry," he apologized.

Why did he always have to compare things to volleyball?! Internally, Kageyama was screaming into the abyss. He was going to scare this guy off for sure, and he grew dejected at the thought.

“Y-you…” Hinata stared, and suddenly was standing from his chair. This was it, Hinata was definitely going to get up and never come back.

“YOU PLAY VOLLEYBALL?!” he shouted, way too loud for being inside a café.

The raven-haired man jumped at the sudden volume change. Shushing him, he motioned for Hinata to sit back down. “Y-Yes I do, so what?”

“I _love_ volleyball! It’s all like WOOSH and PWAH!” the orange-haired kid sparkled. Literally, his eyes were sparkling, and he looked like if he grew any more excited he would shit himself. And _again_ with the weird noises? Why was he like this?

Oblivious to Kageyama’s internal judgment, Hinata pointed at himself and grinned widely. “I’m a middle blocker!”

Kageyama couldn’t hold back a snicker. “ _You?_ An MB? With your height, I would have guessed you were a libero or something,” he dismissed easily.

He bet if he stood in front of a net, he would see right under it. The image pulled another laugh from him.

Hinata didn’t seem to like his teasing, and his cheeks had grown slightly red. “W-Well it’s true that I’m not really tall…” he mumbled.

Kageyama was about to comment again, but suddenly, a sort of fierceness and resolve filled the short man. He looked Kageyama directly in the eye and a dark shadow clung to his face. “But I can jump. And with that, I can fight on the court!”

Kageyama felt the air leave his lungs at the intensity of Hinata's stare. The orange-haired kid left no room for escape, and he had been forced to look into those wide brown eyes of his. The excited child-like glee that had been there before was replaced with a cold sort of hunger, one for the court, and it shook Kageyama right down to his spine.

This guy...he was serious.

When he finally broke eye contact, Kageyama cleared his throat to regain some dignity at having been bested by the smaller boy. "Don't just say it, prove it," he challenged, but with less intensity than he would have liked.

“Anytime,” Hinata agreed and gave Kageyama a determined look. “I’ll show you that I can _really_ fly.”

The barista was just about to take him up on his offer right then and there, but one glance at the clock told him his time was up. Kageyama had to get back to work _now_ if he didn’t want to be marked late.

He jumped up from his chair and ran to the back room. But just before he left, he had the common sense to call to Hinata over his shoulder. “My break is over in one minute; I have to go!”

In record time Kageyama had fixed his dress shirt, thrown on his apron, clocked back in, and made it back to the coffee machines. He felt out of breath both from the rush of almost being late and from talking to Sun— _Hinata._

As if he could read his mind, the ball of energy looked up and gave him a friendly wave with both hands. His eyes were closed, and he was smiling again.

Kageyama gave him a small nod of acknowledgment and started his first order.

_Hinata Shouyou, huh…_

 

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks so much for reading! Let me know what you guys think, yeah? It really gives me motivation to write. See you guys soon!


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